Review: Angostura 5 Year Old Rum (82.5/100)
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka The Rum Howler)
Published April 27, 2022

The House of Angostura traces its beginnings to 1824 when German doctor, Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert, who was then a Surgeon-General in the Venezuelan Army, created a blend of aromatic herbs which he called “Amargo Aromatico” and which would become the world-famous Angostura Bitters. Although the company he created to manufacture these bitters was originally founded in the town known as Angostura (later to be renamed Bolivar City), the company was relocated by his successors (his younger brother and son), who  moved it to Port of Spain, Trinidad in 1876.

Of course the House of Angostura remains famous for its world-class bitters; however, it has also become well know for the rum which is produced by their five column still, under the direction of Master Distiller, John P. Georges.

The Angostura 5 Year Old Rum is (like all of the Angostura Rums) produced from molasses on their five column still. Part of the rum is produced from a heavy distillate which is drawn from the multi-column still after passing through only one of the five columns. This heavily flavoured rum is aged and then blended with a more purely refined spirit which is distilled upon all five columns. Both portions of the blend are aged a minimum of 5 years in charred American oak bourbon barrels, after which each portion is hand drawn from the barrel, then blended, filtered and bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

In The Bottle 4/5

The Angostura Gold 5 Year Old  arrives in the tall clear bottle shown to the left. This bar room style bottle is designed to be easy to hold, easy to open, and of course easy to pour. The front label is clean and professional and I like the clear age statement on the label.

I like the bottle, although (if I am honest) the pressed on metallic closure disappoints me as these closures typically warp and strip easily. However, as this rum is (in my locale anyways) priced very reasonably, I can be quite forgiving of what I perceive as an inferior closure.

In the Glass 8/10

Colour: Gold/Amber

Legs: Slightly thickened legs which run slowly down the inside of that glass.

Nose: Butterscotch, fine oak spice, almond and orange peel complimented by vanilla and light baking spices (ginger and cinnamon). There is also a light coconut impression; and as the glass breathes, the almond scent seems to mingle with the butterscotch and vanilla to bring about a very mild impression of marzipan. The fine oak spices build a little as well.

In the Glass 50/60

The rum has a light body; however there is a light buttery feel which is pleasant. Firm flavours of butterscotch, vanilla and almond mingle with wood spices and orange peel. There seems to be a light influence of corn, which probably arises from the American Oak barrels used to mature the spirit. I taste a touch of coconut again as well a mild taste of grassy tobacco, fine oak spice and light baking spices which give the spirit a touch more complexity than the initial first sip would have suggested.

In the Throat (12.5/15)

The 5 Year Old Rum from Angostura is a light bodied rum, and as a result its finish is more crisp rather than long. Fine oak spices which taste of sandalwood and grassy tobacco linger for a short while amidst flavours of almond, vanilla and butterscotch.

The Afterburn (8/10)

I have enjoyed my tasting of the Angostura 5 Year Old Rum. The Rum is almost good enough to sip on its own; especially when a well placed ice cube is added. It is also quite versatile suitable for Rum and Cola style deck drinks as well as more fashionable short cocktails (see below).

If you are interested in comparing more scores, here is a link to my other published Rum Reviews.

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Suggested Recipe:

The Railcar

1 1/2 oz Angostura 5 Year Old Rum
1/2 oz Bols Triple Sec
3/8 oz Lemon or Lime Juice (or a bit of both)
1/4 oz Sugar Syrup
dash Campari
Ice
Citrus Peel (optional)

Add the first five ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice
Shake until the outsides of the shaker begins to frost
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Garnish with a coil of Orange Peel (optional)

Please Enjoy Responsibly!

If you are interested in more of my original cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!

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My Final Score is out of 100 and you may (loosely) interpret the score as follows:

0-25     A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49   Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59  You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69   Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74    Now we have a fair mixing rum or whisky.  Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79    You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory.
80-84    We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89    Excellent for sipping or for mixing!
90-94    Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+       I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and  Bronze medal  scale as follows: